Hugo Lloris bullish on Tottenham performances: 'Only winning matters'

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Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP17 February 2020

Hugo Lloris admits Tottenham need to improve after scraping past Aston Villa with another patchy performance but insists their attitude under Jose Mourinho is: “Only winning matters.”

Heung-min Son’s stoppage-time goal at Villa Park made it five wins and two draws in Spurs’s last seven matches and moved them to within a point of fourth-placed Chelsea, who play Manchester United on Monday, ahead of this Saturday’s clash between the sides.

Only Liverpool have won more Premier League points than Spurs’s 26 since Mourinho’s appointment but there was plenty to improve in their performance at Villa, despite their 3-2 victory.

With RB Leipzig the visitors in the Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday, Spurs skipper Lloris says performances can be better but insists Mourinho’s Spurs are chiefly concerned with winning.

He said: “Especially at this period of the season, only the points matter. We had a difficult game. We have to give a lot of credit to Villa but we never gave up. We expected a tough game, it was a big battle played in difficult conditions with a lot of wind.

“There are a lot of positive things, we still need to correct the negative ones but we have to be happy with the result.

“We could have managed the ball better, especially in the first half. We gave too much possession away but away from home it’s never easy.

“They are playing for their safety, so we knew they’d start with a lot of energy. We conceded a goal not in the best moment but then we stayed strong.

Tottenham conceded a goal from a set-piece after going 2-1 up
Action Images via Reuters

“At 2-1 [up] we had a few chances to score. Unfortunately we conceded a goal from a set-piece. At the moment it’s just about winning but we need to improve performances.

“Leipzig are a fantastic team, they are doing great and playing for the title in Germany. It will demand a lot of ­concentration and focus.”

Son’s winner came after a mistake from Villa’s Bjorn Engels, who also ­conceded a first-half penalty with a foul. Son’s spot-kick was saved but the South Korean scored on the rebound.

Lloris rejected suggestions Spurs had ridden their luck in the recent wins over Manchester City and Southampton and again yesterday.

“I don’t think it’s about luck,” he said. “If you look at some games earlier in the season, we were very unlucky. We know we can do much better.”

Harry Winks agreed with Lloris that performances will come. He said: “We’re getting wins, grinding out results. We’re not always playing the way we should or the way we’d want but we can work on our performances.”

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